Clear and present danger?<\/p>\n
Communism may be dead in Eastern Europe, or temporarily
\nstored in the attic in China or Vietnam, but, ironically, here in
\nIndonesia it is still believed to pose a clear and present
\ndanger. At least, its specter continues to haunt us.<\/p>\n
Officially, three decades after its beheading following the
\nfailure of the coup undertaken by the Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI) in 1965, that ideology is still considered a threat to the
\nnation.<\/p>\n
The latest confirmation of this perceived danger came from
\nnone other than the most authoritative security officer in this
\ncountry, namely Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung. To
\nmany people's surprise, he corroborated the other day that there
\nare indications that some 300 to 400 Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI) activists from all over Indonesia have past communist links
\nand must be considered "unclean".<\/p>\n
The furor over the communist specter started last month, when
\nWest Java officials announced that Djadjang Kurniadi, chairman of
\nthe West Java chapter of PDI, was suspected to have been involved
\nin communist activities in the 1960s. The disclosure, although
\ncategorically denied by Djadjang, has prompted the PDI executive
\nboard to suspend him.<\/p>\n
The most interesting thing, though, is that the first
\nallegation of Djadjang's possible dark and murky past came from
\nrival party members, who are opposed to the leadership of PDI's
\nchairwoman Megawati. Successively, this rival group joined other
\nrebel PDI members, and they set up a rival executive board under
\nthe "chairmanship" of Jusuf Merukh last month. Also interesting
\nto note is that it was Jusuf who fired off the allegation last
\nweek that between 300 to 400 PDI activists have past communist
\nlinks.<\/p>\n
Given Jusuf's background, one can easily surmise that there
\nmust be an underlying political motive in his accusation; that
\nbeing to undermine Megawati's leadership. One may wonder, for
\ninstance, why Jusuf, who for years was himself one of the top
\nleaders of PDI, chose not to reveal his "findings" until after he
\nwas sacked from the party's leadership.<\/p>\n
Gen. Feisal Tanjung's confirmation, later supported by
\nMinister of Home Affairs Yogie S. Memed, also raises questions.
\nFor years following the 1965 abortive communist coup, numerous
\nfirm measures have been taken, particularly by ABRI, to eliminate
\nall communist-related things from the nation's life. Communist,
\nMarxist and Leninist teachings are banned under a decree issued
\nby the People's Consultative Assembly. Certain professions, such
\nteaching, journalism and that of the dalang shadow play
\npuppeteer, are closed to former communist party members or
\nsympathizers.<\/p>\n
People must obtain a document verifying that they were not
\ninvolved in the 1965 abortive communist coup before they can
\napply for a job, especially in the civil service and the Armed
\nForces. Candidates for legislative councils have to pass a so-
\ncalled litsus (special examination) screening procedure before
\nthey can even be nominated. To have a brother, sister, parent, or
\neven an in-law who has past links with PKI means to be "unclean"
\nand such a person is barred from certain positions.<\/p>\n
For three decades this tough policy has been adopted and
\nenforced. A number of communist moles have been exposed,
\nincluding one who succeeded in infiltrating the Golkar executive
\nboard a few years back. Thus, it is hard to believe that there
\nare still hundreds of suspected activists with past communist
\nlinks just in PDI alone. But if there are, one can surely be
\nforgiven for asking if there are others in other organizations or
\nparties as well.<\/p>\n
At the same time, though, one must remember that in past years
\nmany instances have occurred in which people, mostly uneducated
\nvillagers who were opposed to certain government projects, found
\nthemselves accused of terlibat PKI, that is, to have had
\ncommunist links.<\/p>\n
After the demise of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, many
\npeople here have questioned the relevance of continuing the
\npolicy of vigilance against communists. At present, almost half
\nof our entire population are people born after 1965, who have no
\nexperience whatsoever with either the PKI or with communism. And
\nthe percentage of such people in the population is going to be
\nlarger still in the years that are to come. In that case, should
\nwe still continue this policy?<\/p>\n
Understandably, some people are having their doubts and even
\nbelieve that the current policy -- of keeping the communist
\nskeleton hidden in the closet and taking it out whenever it is
\ndeemed convenient -- is merely an excuse, or a justification for
\nachieving a certain political purpose. Moreover, using their
\nplain common sense, many people are inclined to believe that the
\ncorruption, collusion and social disparities of today pose an
\neven more real threat to the nation than does communism.<\/p>\n
True, we have to keep alert and must not belittle the
\ncommunist danger. We think, however, that we should seriously
\nstrive to solve this problem, once and for all. If some cleaning
\nup is necessary, then we should do it without sparing anyone.<\/p>\n
Surely we do not want our children and our children's children
\nto be haunted continuously by the communist specter. We believe
\nthat a never-ending witch hunt can eventually seriously harm not
\nonly our nation's development programs, but also its unity and
\nstability.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/clear-and-present-danger-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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